


the paths we walk

by Anonymous



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, Friendship, Grief/Mourning, Hopeful Ending, M/M, Post-Chapter 698 (Naruto), Sasuke learns how to communicate-the fic, Sasuke's Shame, Soul-Searching, Survivor Guilt, World Travel, it's so bad its a character
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-10
Updated: 2019-06-10
Packaged: 2020-04-24 07:02:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,358
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19168201
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: The sun was rising into the horizon, burning at Sasuke’s eyes, when he formed the ram seal with Naruto’s remaining arm. Using the last breath of life in Naruto’s prone form to dispel the genjutsu that captured the world.-Or, Naruto dies. Sasuke is left.





	the paths we walk

**Author's Note:**

> Starts right after the Valley of the End fight. Everything is canon-compliant right up to that point. 
> 
> I'd like to see Sasuke grieve in a world where he lost his anchor right as he gained it.

“It’s not about winning or losing! If you lose your way again I’m just gonna have to beat your ass until you get it right dumbass!” 

Those were the last words Sasuke heard Naruto say, after Sasuke said that Naruto had won, that he would stay, and he cried and smiled, because now he truly felt like he wasn’t alone anymore. The certainty that he was loved, first by his brother, and now by Naruto. That no matter how much he tried to make himself someone unlovable, he would always have Naruto, at the very least. He would always have someone.

Sasuke turned his head a couple of minutes after, eyes still stinging from the tears, and a pulsing ache where his arm had been, and yet feeling like some weight had been lifted from his shoulders. Like he could finally breathe. Naruto’s eyes were closed, he apparently used up all his energy on their fight. Sasuke, too, felt like he could fall asleep at any moment too.

“Naruto.” Sasuke said. Naruto didn’t respond.

Sasuke looked closer. Naruto looked too still, he wasn’t moving with any of the energy Sasuke knew he had. His chest wasn’t moving.

“Naruto?” Sasuke was more insistent now. No response again. 

Sasuke’s body was heavy, aching, his vision was blurry from his tiredness. His arm closest to Naruto wasn’t there anymore. He had to roll over to try to shake Naruto’s shoulder, confirm that he was alright. 

“Naruto? Are you alright?” Sasuke shook Naruto’s shoulder. He kneeled beside Naruto with the last dregs of energy he could muster. His right arm felt like jelly, his heart was starting to beat heavily in his chest. His sternum was closing in on his chest and he could only hear his heartbeat in his ears, and the distant ringing of his voice shouting louder at Naruto’s prone form. “Answer me! Wake up!”

Sasuke was frantic, dizzy with exhaustion, but he put his fingers on Naruto’s pulse for a couple of seconds. Nothing. Then in front of Naruto’s nose to feel if he was breathing.

Nothing.

Sasuke was shaking, his hands were clammy, and there was knot on his throat.

He learned, in the academy—it seemed so long ago now—how to do chest compressions, but Sasuke only had one arm, and he was so, so tired. But still, he had to try. 

If he could do anything to bring Naruto back, he would do it. After everything he had done, all he had was his one arm, and hope that Sakura had slipped out of his genjutsu, that there was help coming. Anything.

He shifted his knees to be in line with Naruto’s chest, braced his one arm on Naruto’s sternum, and pushed. Sasuke’s heart was on his throat, and he could only count to thirty, push his body weight with everything he had into Naruto’s sternum. He had used the last of his energy trying to murder Naruto, and now all he had was a frantic energy choking him, to push deep at Naruto’s chest—gods he was so still. 

There was a high-pitched buzzing in Sasuke’s ears, he was breathing heavily and he didn’t know if it was the fear that was encroaching on him, or his physical efforts to keep Naruto’s blood flowing. After thirty pulses, Sasuke bent down, pushed Naruto’s head back, awkwardly since he didn’t have one arm—he needed it he needed it he needed it. He did this to himself, and now he was paying the price. He pinched Naruto’s nose closed and tried to pry his mouth wide open with his middle, ring, and little fingers while he kept his nose pinched. Then he breathed into Naruto’s mouth.

Naruto’s chest didn’t move. Sasuke couldn’t breathe any sort of life into him, not like this. 

He was so useless.

Yet, he pushed on. If he couldn’t breathe for Naruto, he would keep his heart beating. Sasuke heard the way Naruto’s ribs popped and cracked under the pressure of his arm. He was breaking something, he was so sure of it, but it couldn’t be worse than the way he had already killed Naruto. He kept his elbow locked, and kept pushing his weight, again, and again and again. 

Sasuke’s stomach constricted, his heart was aching in his chest, it had to be escaping into his throat and out his mouth.

He couldn’t keep pushing at Naruto’s chest, he looked away from Naruto and hurled bile into the ground beside Naruto’s head. Some vomit sprinkled Naruto’s bruised and swollen face. Naruto would be so angry when he woke up. Sasuke could tell him that friendships are forged in puke, some sort of bad joke to rile Naruto up more. Naruto was going to wake up. He must. 

Sasuke didn’t let himself stop dry heaving when he returned his hand to Naruto’s sternum, wheezing while trying to keep Naruto from slipping away forever. With a loud crack, louder than the others, something gave in Naruto’s chest, the air felt different. Sasuke kept pushing.

Sakura. Sakura—she could come at any moment, she must. She could bring Naruto back, she was a medic and she was strong and everything Sasuke wasn’t where it counted. 

Naruto was still. 

Sasuke wanted to beg, to shout at Naruto to wake up, to come back, to not leave him. He promised. He promised that he would be there for Sasuke if he ever slipped again. He would smack Sasuke around until he saw reason. Naruto promised, and he never went back on his word, did he? That was his ninja way, sworn in blood. He promised. 

But Sasuke couldn’t. He couldn’t waste his breath in words when he was already so tired, so out of breath from keeping Naruto’s blood flowing. He was heaving. His elbow gave out under him, he could no longer push into Naruto’s chest. He tried to lock his elbow again to keep going, but he fell face first into his hand on Naruto. His knees were trembling, and his eyes were weeping. 

He tried. He tried to hard to get up and keep pushing life into Naruto’s cracked chest. 

He was in the process of getting up to keep the chest compressions going—his wrist hurt so much, he could only hear his heavy breathing anymore—when Sakura and Kakashi arrived. 

Sakura stopped for only a second while Sasuke kept pushing with the last of his energy, no longer effective. Naruto’s sternum wasn’t sinking enough anymore, when she leapt forward to examine Naruto. 

“Kakashi-sensei! Keep the chest compressions. Sasuke, get off!” Sakura ordered.

Sasuke scampered to the side while Kakashi went to take Sasuke’s place at Naruto’s chest. He wanted to stay where he was, maybe if he could grasp at Naruto strongly enough, he would wake up. They were destined to be together, that was what the Sage of Six Paths told them. They were the reincarnations of brothers, they shared the same chakra. Maybe Sasuke could give his own life up to bring Naruto's back to his heart. But such notions were useless, they would do nothing but get in the way of Kakashi and Sakura, so Sasuke sat back and watched. Detached. 

They tried. Kakashi and Sakura, for what it was worth, but Sakura, too, had barely anything to give anymore. They had all felt it. Sasuke when he was alone with Naruto, and Sakura and Kakashi when they were heading their way. 

How the nine-tails’ chakra had dispersed from Naruto’s body, back into its surroundings. Like nature had inhaled Kurama and Naruto’s life back into its breast.

-

The sun was rising into the horizon, burning at Sasuke’s eyes, when he formed the ram seal with Naruto’s remaining arm. Using the last breath of life in Naruto’s prone form to dispel the genjutsu that captured the world. 

His panic passed into exhaustion, and Sasuke passed out, with Sakura’s choked sobs and Kakashi’s damning silence enveloping him as his world went to black.

-

A day later, Sasuke woke up in a hospital bed in Konoha, in the death of night, to a world where Naruto was no more.


End file.
